Thanks to all of you who supported this campaign!
Even without a 'win', it was and will be a success because the momentum is set now.
I'll make sure it keeps going.

Lest anyone think I'm disappointed at my defeat, consider this: I received 28% of the vote from my district!
I expected at best 10% because this district is over 95% registered Republican, most of whom vote a 'straight party' ballot.
I got nearly one in three votes! That says something.

When it comes to taxes and fees, Utah ranks 12th highest in the nation.
The projects that Mike Noel supports will cost even more taxpayer and ratepayer dollars than we are already giving to the government.
At the same time, these projects do little or nothing to meet the needs of our rural communities.
They are largely a waste of money that will be coming out of our families’ pockets for a very long time.

And although we pay high taxes in Utah, our schools go underfunded and education at every level suffers.
We rank dead last in money spent per pupil.
Not only are our tax dollars wasted on unnecessary projects that don't benefit Utah families,
our legislature has given a 'free pass' to the big corporations that come into our state to extract natural resources.
A recent economic study found that in 2011 Utah had the lowest effective tax rate on oil and natural gas activity of
any western energy-producing state.
Even worse, our state has imposed NO severance tax on coal!
Our neighbor Wyoming has a coal severance tax of between 3.75 and 7 percent.
Mike Noel has chosen to give these industries an easy pass while our schools go underfunded.
It is time for Utah legislators to get serious about funding public education.
I will work to make sure that big oil, gas & coal companies pay the standard taxes they would pay in any other state.
And I will make certain that our schools get their fair share.

With your vote, I will work to reduce taxes in Utah, both locally and statewide.
I will only support publicly funded projects that directly serve the people of Utah.
I will work to cut unnecessary spending of taxpayer dollars, and only support projects that are worth the money spent,
rather than give-aways to out-of-state financial interests.
Please vote for me on November 6th.
Better yet, tell your family and friends that there is a candidate that wants to stop wasting our money in government.

Dear Voters in District 73,

I wish our politicians would stop wasting time & money posturing and pandering to extreme positions.
It is time for a fair-minded, level-headed approach to solving our problems with win-win solutions.
I'm challenging Mike Noel to represent our district.

District 73 covers more than six (yes 6!) counties, including San Juan, Garfield, Kane, Wayne, Beaver and Piute (and a portion of Sevier).
That's a lot of land:

a lot of good hunting and fishing,

a lot of small towns,

a lot of young families needing full-time year-round jobs with benefits,

a lot of visitors spending money in our district, a lot of local business owners living & investing here,

a lot of folks retiring here & spending their dollars here,

a lot of out-of-state cabin-owners paying property taxes here to maintain their getaway,

a lot of native tribal members struggling to gain basic infrastructure and water to their homes,

and a lot of hard working & enterprising people!

Our vast district also has a lot of tourism, recreation, restaurants, small businesses, service sector jobs,
and a lot of year-round government jobs.
It's a lot of beautiful vistas, a lot of range land, 'moonscape', a lot of visible stars, and a lot of solitude & breathable air.
It's what we love about living here!

Creating a win-win for everyone means taking a sensible approach to our lands policy,
forging solutions through land exchanges to gain royalties for our counties from trust lands already in
mineral development throughout the state.
It means promoting policies that allow our lumber industry to retool for minimal-impact removal of fallen trees,
charred timber, and firebreak clearance from our forests.
Each county has its own unique land characteristics, history & culture, and its own unique set of needs & challenges.
Our vast district needs a representative who will commit to bridge the gap between the two polarized political parties at the state capitol.
That's why I'm running as a 3rd Party candidate for our legislature.
I will forge connections on both sides to foster fair & balanced policy that will benefit all the people of our district.

Mike Noel's political posturing wastes our tax dollars on protracted (30-yr-long) lawsuits against the
Feds deemed unlikely to win by all judicial authorities,
while he ignores solutions that would meet the real needs of our towns and communities!
He promotes the agenda of wealthy, out-of-state speculators, and plans to subsidize them by raising our taxes,
rates & impact fees. Our money should be spent on projects that directly benefit Utah families.
We need to work with our public servants to forge creative solutions,
such as land exchanges that will gain us royalties from BLM land already in mineral development.
We can attract new companies that will invest in our communities and offer good-paying year-round jobs.
We can focus on incentives that help locals start up new businesses in our counties, and on ways to grow our existing local businesses!

As a business owner and board member of the Wayne County Business Association,
I have seen many incentive programs, entrepreneurial ideas,
and compatible industries out there just waiting for us to put a 'package' together & act.
And I will work with our towns & counties to do that!

I will debate Mike Noel on October 9th at 7:00 pm at the Kanab Middle School. Please join us if you can!

Ty Markham
Candidate for Utah House District 73

Small Business and Jobs

Utah needs jobs, affordable training, and a foundation that promotes our self-reliance. Rural communities are filled with hard-working people.
We are the descendants of native Americans, we are the grandchildren of Utah pioneers, the sons and daughters of visionary entrepreneurs,
and the great-grandchildren of a diverse population of immigrant workers.
Our diversity is our strength.
Utah’s working people have always been the backbone of our prosperity.
But our working class is struggling.

Ty Markham believes every community needs a champion for its small business owners because these are the people whose
entrepreneurial spirit leads to new jobs, more jobs and higher-paying jobs.
As a small business owner and board member of the Wayne County Business Association,
Ty Markham understands the challenges business owners are facing in today’s economy.
It is much too difficult to access capital for expansion, to access on-the-job training, to acquire new skills and earn new certifications.

Are you a small business owner in District 73? Please contact Ty with issues and challenges that need to be addressed.

Education

Rural Utahns need access to the same affordable, quality, tax-supported educational opportunities that our
metropolitan residents take for granted. This means continued support for the outreach programs offered by
Utah’s Rural Business Centers, Small Business Development Centers, University-based Distance Education Centers,
Extension offices and high-speed internet access to online resources.

And although we pay high taxes in Utah, our schools go underfunded and education at every level suffers.
We rank dead last in money spent per pupil.
Not only are our tax dollars wasted on unnecessary projects that don't benefit Utah families,
our legislature has given a 'free pass' to the big corporations that come into our state to extract natural resources.
A recent economic study found that in 2011 Utah had the lowest effective tax rate on oil and natural gas activity of
any western energy-producing state.
Even worse, our state has imposed NO severance tax on coal!
Our neighbor Wyoming has a coal severance tax of between 3.75 and 7 percent.
Mike Noel has chosen to give these industries an easy pass while our schools go underfunded.
It is time for Utah legislators to get serious about funding public education.
I will work to make sure that big oil, gas & coal companies pay the standard taxes they would pay in any other state.
And I will make certain that our schools get their fair share.

Ty supports Utah’s Prosperity 2020 initiative.
This movement addresses the need to educate and train our current employees and students in areas that will result in
high-paying jobs and the creation of new jobs.
There are some amazing educational grants and opportunities available that need to be made accessible to rural Utahns.

The Role of Government

Good government is transparent. All back-room deals need exposure to the light of day, especially those ties between politicians and private-for-profit or corporate lobbies.

Good government supports opportunity.
Enabling the people to expand their skills, knowledge, self-determination and outreach.

Good governmental policies protect citizens from abuses of power. Because government policies are not always fair, Ty Markham believes we must be vigilant in ensuring that watchdog groups are allowed to exist, and that the voice of the People are heard.

Good leaders represent the people, not corporate interests. Our stewardship of Utah’s natural resources, landscapes, natural beauty and industries is a complex and vital responsibility. Ty Markham is acutely aware of the historical decisions involving land use that created jobs yet divided communities, established cultural norms yet damaged landscapes, and created wealth for specific communities, yet left others destitute. Ty Markham appreciates the need to listen to all viewpoints and discuss the short-term versus long-term impacts based on what the people want, not the corporate interests.

Good laws protect our constitutional rights. The US Constitution was written to protect our rights as individuals. It provides for a form of government that allows us to elect our leaders, who are then tasked with ensuring our society is structured so the rule of law is enforced. As a full-time rural Utahan, Ty Markham is sensitive to the need for small towns and rural places to have a voice and a place at the table when the government is making laws that affect us.

Good government provides control over the abuses of power. Because our nation is a republic that is also a democracy, we need elected officials who have the courage and ethical foundation to tackle abuses of power head-on. That’s why Ty Markham is firmly committed to ensuring ethical leadership rather than political posturing and self-serving 'power games' that waste our tax dollars and distract from tackling the important issues head-on.

Health Care

Rural Utahns and small business owners need affordable health insurance.
As a mother, grandmother and employer, Ty Markham knows how rural Utah businesses and families struggle to meet healthcare costs.
Today, many Utahns are without health insurance. Many more are under-insured,
meaning one serious accident can result in bankruptcy and homelessness.
Ty believes the health of our neighbors shouldn’t be a political baseball,
but an essential basic need that ought to be affordable and accessible to everyone.

Energy

Utah has some of the cheapest energy in the US when it comes to electricity.
But that doesn’t mean we should be complacent about this.
Our state needs to invest in an economy that supports clean, domestic, renewable energy. This transition won’t be cheap or easy, but it is necessary for long-term planning. Utah currently ranks about 46th in the nation in producing renewable energy, even though we have some of the best wind and solar resources in the land. We need leadership that will promote these resources, so we don't keep falling further behind. The good news is that investing in renewables means investing in a thriving energy economy for Utah’s future.

Water

Our rivers and mountain streams are some of the cleanest in the nation, supporting wildlife and recreation, as well as providing irrigation and drinking water to our communities in southern Utah--one of the driest desert regions on earth. The decisions we make over the next two years regarding our water resources and conservation will determine whether our communities will thrive or wither over the next several decades.

Get Involved!

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